Mold for casting test samples

ABSTRACT

A re-usable mold for casting cylindrical concrete test samples. The mold is made of a pair of complementary mold sections which abut at vertical and horizontal edges to define three cylindrical mold cavities with each cavity sealed at the bottom and sealed from each other. The mold sections are retained together by tapered channels carrying handles for the transport of the mold. The mold has a box-like outer shape so that the mold can be shipped by trucks or the like transport without requiring packaging, as is now necessary for test molds of cylindrical outer shape.

United States Patent 1 1 1 1 3,815,851 Girard [45] June 11, 1974 [54] MOLD FOR CASTING TEST SAMPLES 1,215,797 2/1917 Gutteridge 249/1 19 1,241,618 10/1917 Gathmann 249/168 [76] lnvemor' Rhea 3460A C 1,246,738 11/1917 Gathmann 249/168 Y Quebec, Provmce of 2,932,386 4/1950 Ushkow 249/121 Quebec, Canada [22] Filed: July 24, 1972 Primary ExaminerJ. Spencer Overholser [21 1 App] No 274 194 Assistant ExaminerDeWalden W. Jones [301 Foreign Application Priority Data [57] ABSTRACT Aug. 13, 1971 Canada 120563 A rte-usable mold fQY casting Cylindrical concrete test samples. The mold is made of a pair of complemen- [52 us. c1 249/121, 249/163, 249/173, y mold Sections which abut at vertical and horizon- 249/D[G 4 tal edges to define three cylindrical mold cavities with [51 int. c1 828!) 7/24 each Cavity Sealed at the bottom and Sealed from each 58 Field of Search 249/119, 121, 129, 131, other- The mold Sections are retained together y 249 0 1 3 1 5 7 168, 169 173 DIG pered channels carrying handles for the transport of 4 the mold. The mold has a box-like outer shape so that the mold can be shipped by trucks or the like trans- [5 References Cited port without requiring packaging, as is now necessary UNITED STATES PATENTS for test molds of cylindrical outer shape.

1,204,166 11/1916 Levin 249/119 x 7 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures MOLD FOR CASTING TEST SAMPLES The present invention relates to a re-usable mold for casting cylindrical concrete test samples.

In order to determine the quality and strength of concrete mixes, it is customary to cast test cylinders on the building site and to ship the same to a testing laboratory. Such molds, whether they are a one-trip molds or re-usable molds, have generally only one cavity and have an outer cylindrical shape. Such cylindrical molds must be packed in rectangular containers for shipping by trucks or the like to and from the testing laboratory, because cylindrical objects are not accepted by shipping companies, as these objects can easily roll. Moreover, such molds are not protected against external abuse and the concrete samples can be easily deformed especially when fresh, whereby the sample is rejected for test purposes.

The general object of the invention resides in a mold for casting concrete test samples, which has at least two mold cavities and has an outer box-like shape, whereby the mold can be shipped as is without requiring to be placed in containers.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a mold of the character described, in which the mold cavities are well protected against external abuse by a rib network which also serves to reinforce the walls of the mold cavities and to effect a liquid-proof joint along all of the abutting edges of the mold sections.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a mold of the character described, which is reusable, being made of a pair of complementary mold sections retained together in abutment by means of tapered channel members, which in association with the above-noted rib network effect a liquid-proof joint between the two mold sections.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of a mold of the character described, in which the tapered retaining channels carry handles used for the manual transport of the molds.

Another object of the invention is to provide a mold of the character described with tie means to effect a liquid-proof joint between the various mold cavities.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of an easily removable cover for the mold.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention will become more apparent during the following disclosure and by referring to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the assembled mold; FIG. 2 is a plan section, taken along line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a vertical transverse section, taken along line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a partial plan section, on a large scale, in the region of a terminal vertical joint of the two mold sections, this figure being a portion on an enlarged scale of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4a is a vertical cross-section of the bottom joint of the two mold sections, said view being a portion on an enlarged scale of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the mold assembly with the cover partly removed;

FIG. 6 is an end elevation of the mold;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the combined retaining tapered channel and handle; and

FIG. 8 is aplan section, on an enlarged scale, of a portion of FIG. 2 and showing the tie means between the mold cavities.

In. the drawings, like reference characters indicate like elements throughout.

The mold in accordance with the invention is made of two complementary similar mold sections, generally indicated at 1, each made of a molded synthetic resin, such as polypropylene, acetal butyral or other preferably high impact plastic.

The two mold sections, when assembled, define at least two, and preferably three, mold cavities 2 having a bottom wall and open at the top. Each mold section comprises a semi-cylindrical wall 3 and a bottom wall 4. The two mold sections, when assembled, abut along vertical orientated intermediate edge faces 5 and terminal edge faces 6 and also along horizontally orientated edge faces 7 of the bottom walls 4. The intermediate edge faces 5 which form a joint between the cavities, are preferably smooth and flat, while the terminal edge faces 6 at the outer ends of the outermost cavities are provided with a mating tongue-and-groove joint 8, preferably of double construction, that is two tongues mating with two grooves. Similarly, the horizontal edge faces 7 form a tongue-and-groove joint, preferably of double formation, as indicated at 9.

Each mold section is provided with an integral terminal extension 10 which are complementary to each other, having abutting edge faces 11 which are continuations of the terminal edge faces 6 and which are flat and smooth. The two extensions, when contacting, form a member of T-shaped plan section, each having a lateral rib 13. As shown in FIG. 6, the two lateral ribs 13 are vertically tapered, being of decreasing width towards the bottom of the mold. Means are provided for retaining the two mold sections in abutment. Said means comprises, for each end of the mold, a tapered metal channel 14 having substantially the same taper as the lateral ribs 13 and adapted to slidably fit the extension 10 and lateral ribs 13 by movement vertically along the mating extensions 10, indicated by arrow 15 in FIG. 6, to positively and firmly lock the two extensions 10 together at each end of the mold. Each channel 14 has preferably inturned lips 16 adapted to engage behind the lateral ribs 13. Each channel 14 carries a handle 17 rigidly secured thereto as by welding, providing a good hand grip with the grasping portion surrounded by a cushioning sleeve 18, of flexible plastic.

When the mold is carried by the handles 17, the latter exert an upward force on the channels 14 which tend to more firmly press the two extensions 10 together, effecting a good sealproof joint at the vertical edge faces 6 of the two mold sections 1.

The two mold sections 1 are provided on the outside of the mold cavities with a network of reinforcing ribs including integral vertical reinforcing ribs l9, l9 and horizontal integral reinforcing ribs 20. The vertical ribs l9, 19 are disposed two by two along a plane transverse to each mold cavity with a first group, namely ribs 19, along a generatrix of each cavity and a second group, namely ribs 19, opposite the junction between each two cavities. The horizontal ribs 20 include ribs at the level of the top edge of the mold and the bottom walls 4 with a plurality of intermediate horizontal ribs, for instance four such ribs equally vertically spaced. The outer edges of the vertical ribs 19 all lie in a vertical plane on each side of the mold and merge with the outer straight edges 21 of the portion of the horizontal ribs between the vertical ribs 19 of the two endmost cavities.

The horizontal ribs 20 have a partially circular outer edge face 22 outside of the endmost vertical ribs 19, so that these horizontal rib portions have substantially a uniform width. The portions of the horizontal ribs between the pairs of vertical endmost ribs extend to and are integrally connected with the semi-cylindrical walls 3 to form webs 23.

The rib network confers rigidity to the two molds sections, whereby the latter will not open at their joint under the pressure exerted by the fresh concrete test,

sample in the mold cavities.

To further provide a tight seal at the joint, especially between the adjacent aligned mold cavities, tie bolt means are provided. A through bolt 24 horizontally extends across the two mold sections between each adjacent cavity and are preferably located nearer the top edge of the mold and extend through transversely aligned ribs 19'. Each tie bolt 24 receives a wing nut 25, which 'can be quickly screwed and unscrewed. Preferably, a combined bushing and washer 26 is inserted within an enlarged hole of the intermediate rib 19' to abut the wing nut.

Because the vertical ribs 19 are recessed with respect to the outer edges of the ribs 19 and to the outer edges 21 of horizontal ribs 20, the wing bolts and the head of the bolts 24 do not protrude from the lateral faces of the mold assembly as defined by the outer edges of the rib network. The intermediate vertical edge faces 5 between the cavities are wide enough so that the passage of the bolt 24 allows on each side thereof abutment faces of at least the same width as the thickness of the semi-cylindrical wall 3, so as to form a good joint, even in the zone of the bolts 24.

Theexternal bottom face of the mold is provided with a central longitudinally extending rib 27 to allow sufficient width for the horizontal edge faces 7 to provide for the double tongue-and-groove 9, as clearly shown in FIG. 4a. Additional transverse ribs 28 of the same height as bottom rib 27, are provided to further reinforce the bottom wall and also to provide a stable surface for the mold. The transverse, bottom ribs 28 are preferably in the plane of the vertical ribs 19.

The mold is preferably provided with a removable cover, generally indicated at 29. The cover is coextensive with the top of the mold and has lateral inwardly opening longitudinal grooves 30 for receiving with a sliding fit the longitudinal outer edges of the top horizontal rib 20. The vertical ribs 19 are notched at their upper end, as shown at 31 in FIGS. 3 and 6, for the free passage of the cover. One end of the cover is provided with a handle 32 by means of which the cover is slid into position'to close the mold, as indicated by arrow 33 in FIG. 5. lnversely, the handle serves to pull out the cover from the mold. In the closed position, the underface 34 of the cover is spaced from the top face 35 of the mold, so that the concrete filling the mold cavities to the top edge thereof will not come in contact with the cover. The cover can be dispensed with as it in no way serves to effect a good liquid-proof joint between the two mold sections 1. This is achieved only by the retaining channel members 14 and the tie bolts 24. When assembled, the mold has a box-like shape instead of the usual cylindrical shape of conventional molds, whereby they are accepted by shipping concerns without requiring further packaging. They can easily be stacked disposed side by side. Moreover, the standard test in testing laboratories for concrete requires one sample cured for seven days and two samples cured for 28 days, that is three samples of the same concrete batch. The three-cavity molds of the invention provide in a single unit the three samples required. Preferably, each mold cavity has 6 inches diameter and 12 inches in height in accordance with the standard test samples.

The two-mold sections are very easily assembledby the channel members 14 and the tie bolts 24 and wing nuts 25. The mating faces of the two mold sections can be very easily cleaned. The mold is of light weightconstruction and, when full, can be easily transported by the handles 17. There is no danger of the two-mold sections coming apart, because the handles exert an upward force on the channels tending to more closely fit the channels on the lateral ribs 13 due to the wedging action.

I claim:

1. A mold for testing cylindrical concrete test samples comprising a pair of complementary mold sections, each having at least three vertically oriented edges which abut to define at least two separate cylindrical mold cavities, means to removably retain said mold sections in abutment, each mold section having a semi-cylindrical wall for each cavity, said cylindrical walls joined together at common vertically orientated edges, a semi-circular bottom wall for each cavity having a straight free horizontal edge and a rib network integral with the outer face of each semi-cylindrical wall, the ribs of said rib network extending outwardly from the semi-cylindrical walls and having their outer edges in a substantially common vertical flat plane, the planes for the two sections being substantially parallel when the mold sections are fitted together, said rib network comprising a plurality of vertically spaced horizontal ribs and vertical ribs disposed in pairs transverse to the assembled mold sections along a generatrix of each cavity, the horizontal ribs in the region between said cavities forming a web of progressively increasing width from said vertical ribs to the junction of two cavities.

2. A mold as claimed in claim 1, further including an additional set of vertical ribs located opposite the vertically orientated edges separating one cavity from another.

3. A mold as claimed in claim 1, wherein said vertically orientated edges and said horizontally orientated edges are provided with mating tongues and grooves for forming a liquid-proof joint.

4. A mold for testing cylindrical concrete test samples comprising a pair of complementary mold sections, each having at least three vertically oriented edges which abut to define at least two separate cylindrical mold cavities, each mold section having a semicylindrical wall for each cavity, said semi-cylindrical walls joined together at common vertically orientated edges, a semi-circular bottom wall for each cavity having a straight free horizontal edge and a rib network integral with the outer face of each semi-cylindrical wall, the ribs of said rib network extending outwardly from the semi-cylindrical walls and having their outer edges in a substantially common vertical flat plane, the planes for the two sections being substantially parallel when the mold sections are fitted together, and means to removably retain said mold sections in abutment, comprising at each end of each mold section a wedgeshaped vertical extension tapering towards the bottom of the mold when the sections are assembled and complementary one with the other, and a tapered channel member removably slidably fitted over said tapered extensions to retain the two mold sections together.

5. A mold as claimed in claim 4, further including a handle means carried by each of said channel members, so that the mold assembly can be lifted by said handle means due to the wedging action between said of said mold. 

1. A mold for testing cylindrical concrete test samples comprising a pair of complementary mold sections, each having at least three vertically oriented edges which abut to define at least two separate cylindrical mold cavities, means to removably retain said mold sections in abutment, each mold section having a semi-cylindrical wall for each cavity, said cylindrical walls joined together at common vertically orientated edges, a semicircular bottom wall for each cavity having a straight free horizontal edge and a rib network integral with the outer face of each semi-cylindrical wall, the ribs of said rib network extending outwardly from the semi-cylindrical walls and having their outer edges in a substantially common vertical flat plane, the planes for the two sections being substantially parallel when the mold sections are fitted together, said rib network comprising a plurality of vertically spaced horizontal ribs and vertical ribs disposed in pairs transverse to the assembled mold sections along a generatrix of each cavity, the horizontal ribs in the region between said cavities forming a web of progressively increasing width from said vertical ribs to the junction of two cavities.
 2. A mold as claimed in claim 1, further including an additional set of vertical ribs located opposite the vertically orientated edges separating one cavity from another.
 3. A mold as claimed in claim 1, wherein said vertically orientated edges and said horizontally orientated edges are provided with mating tongues and grooves for forming a liquid-proof joint.
 4. A mold for testing cylindrical concrete test samples comprising a pair of complementary mold sections, each having at least three vertically oriented edges which abut to define at least two separate cylindrical mold cavities, each mold section having a semi-cylindrical wall for each cavity, said semi-cylindrical walls joined together at common vertically orientated edges, a semi-circular bottom wall for each cavity having a straight free horizontal edge and a rib network integral with the outer face of each semi-cylindrical wall, the ribs of said rib network extending outwardly from the semi-cylindrical walls and having their outer edges in a substantially common vertical flat plane, the planes for the two sections being substantially parallel when the mold sections are fitted together, and means to removably retain said mold sections in abutment, comprising at each end of each mold section a wedge-shaped vertical extension tapering towards the bottom of the mold when the sections are assembled and complementary one with the other, and a tapered channel member removably slidably fitted over said tapered extensions to retain the two mold sections together.
 5. A mold as claimed in claim 4, further including a handle means carried by each of said channel members, so that the mold assembly can be lifted by said handle means due to the wedging action between said channel and said tapered extension.
 6. A mold as claimed in claim 4, further including tie bolt means extending through the vertically orientated edges of said mold sections between the cavities.
 7. A mold as claimed in claim 4, further including a removable cover slidably fitted over the assembled mold sections for tightly closing the open top mold cavities and having an underface spaced from the top face of said mold. 